Lewis Hamilton staying with McLaren, says team boss Martin Whitmarsh

Lewis Hamilton was hoping to impress in front of the British crowds (Picture: Getty Images)

Hamilton, who is out of contract at the end of 2012, admitted that McLaren are a long way behind Red Bull and Ferrari after a disappointing British Grand Prix.

But Whitmarsh said: ‘He’s got to want to stay in this team, which I believe he does.’

He insisted that the team’s performances would improve soon.

‘He [Hamilton] knows that, I know that and we’re disciplined and battle-hardened enough these days to know that,’ Whitmarsh added.

‘You’ve got to take stock, learn from these weekends. Sometimes you can learn more from these than the successful ones.’

Hamilton finished eight, leaving him 37 points adrift of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the drivers’ world championship, while Jenson Button battled from a 16th starting position to finish tenth.

The result meant McLaren fell behind Lotus into fourth in the constructors’ championship, and Hamilton said: ‘I raced my heart out as always but we just struggled, we did not have enough speed in general.

‘We have a lot of time to find from somewhere, we need a lot of downforce from somewhere.’

Red Bull’s Mark Webber snatched the Silverstone win from Alonso, passing the Spanish driver four laps from the end of the race.

The teams enter a crucial part of the 2012 season with three races in the next four weeks, including the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on July 22.